


Some Kind of Miracle

by DiamondBlade



Series: Thankful [6]
Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers Dino Charge
Genre: Amnesia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-15 23:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21261437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondBlade/pseuds/DiamondBlade
Summary: Riley wakes up on Thanksgiving morning to his family already at the farm, waiting on him to get their festivities underway. Meanwhile, Chase gets released from the hospital and says his goodbyes to the staff before heading off to a familiar place.





	Some Kind of Miracle

**Author's Note:**

> Nothing says "Halloween" like posting a story about Thanksgiving, huh? ;)
> 
> This actually concludes all of the stories I'd written back in 2015. Revisiting these has awakened the writer in me. Maybe I'll go on from here and visit our heroes on Christmas. I know that, in adjectiveless Dino Charge, Riley stayed behind while Chase went off to New Zealand to visit his family, but maybe I can work around that...

Riley awoke to the smell of his mom’s famous pumpkin pie cooking downstairs. He rolled over and checked his phone, taking note of the time: 9:05AM. His eyes widened, because he wasn’t used to sleeping in so late on holidays. “Why didn’t anyone wake me up?” He asked aloud, not anticipating a response.

_“It’s because you’ve been down in the dumps,”_ Jenifer replied from out in the hall, startling Riley. She peeked her head in. “Oh, sorry. Did I startle you?”

“Yes!” Riley pulled the blanket up, covering up the fact that he wasn’t wearing a shirt. “What are you doing up here?”

“Oh, please, with the modesty. It’s not like it’s nothing I haven’t seen before. We grew up playing in the dirt together, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. Still, a guy needs his privacy.”

“You’re not going to have it for very long. The entire family’s here, and they’re starting to wonder where you’re hiding.”

“Great,” Riley sighed. “Better prepare myself for the barrage of questions about Chase.”

“As if you’re the center of attention in this family. Don’t you think that we have other things to talk about besides your love life?”

“Well, I…”

“Well, you’re wrong, because they’re already asking if Chase is coming. Cousin Sheila is suspecting that he’s already here, and that’s why you haven’t been downstairs yet.”

Riley got out of bed and put on his robe. “Did you tell anyone what’s been going on?” She shook her head. “Why not?”

“I rather like the stories, because they’re more interesting than what’s actually happening. Also, if we weren’t related, I’d be all over you like powdered sugar on a donut. You’re gorgeous!”

“First of all, thank you. Second of all, that’s really creepy. Get out of here so I can get dressed!”

“Fine. I’ll be downstairs with the family.” She walked off, singing. _“The five o’clock whistle’s on the blink…”_

Riley shook his head. “This is going to be a long day…”

~*~

Chase awoke to Moana staring at him. He shrieked in surprise. “What are you doing here, and why are you staring at me like I’m the last shrimp on the Barbie?”

“You’ve been released, and the staff called me to come and get you. I rushed right over!” He looked down at the Starbucks cup in her hand. She followed his line of sight. “Oh, this silly thing? I wanted one of those controversial red cups that everyone’s talking about on the ol’ Facebook, so I stopped by and got a Peppermint Spice Latte.”

“And, you didn’t bring me one because…?”

“Oh, I did, but you were sleeping, so I drank it for you. You really liked it!” She smiled.

“Ha ha, very funny. Now, do you mind leaving for a bit, so that I can get dressed?”

Moana looked around for anyone else. She soon realized what Chase meant. “Oh, you meant me? I should go. Okay, I’ll be back in a jiffy! That first latte’s gone right through me!” She turned and walked out of the room, heading toward the restroom.

Chase shook his head and drew the curtain closed. After a few minutes, he opened the curtain back up, and saw Deirdre standing in the doorway. “Deirdre! What a surprise! I thought you were off today.”

“I was called in to cover for someone.” She looked at him, puzzled. “You’re dressed?”

“Yeah. My ride is here to take me home.”

“We don’t usually discharge patients until at least 3:00. I thought I had a few more hours to… You know…”

“What? Take more blood out of me? No thanks, Nurse Vampire. I’ve got an urgent plan that can’t wait for you to take what precious blood I have left.” He sat on the bed and put on his shoes, tying them as he put each one on.

“No, not that.”

_“Then, what?”_ Deirdre quickly turned around, shocked to see Moana standing there. “My dear, certainly you have other patients that require your attention.”

“Well, I –“

“And, those patients certainly shouldn’t wait for their nurse to come and assist them because she’s been drooling over my son, should they?”

“No, but –“

“And, their nurse shouldn’t be trying to be a homewrecker, when my son is in a wonderful relationship with someone that he loves very much, because his mother is ready to rain all over you like a New Zealand thunderstorm. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” She turned back to wave at Chase, and then left the room, running down the hallway.

“Mm-hmm,” Moana spoke, under her breath. “Hussy.”

“Thanks, ‘mom,’” Chase replied, smiling, “I needed that. By the way, have you seen my phone?”

“Riley gave it to me when you first got here. He thought that I should hold onto it for safe keeping.”

“Riley…” Chase put on his jacket. “I need to see him. Do you know where he is?”

“I haven’t seen him since that night when you arrived here. He hasn’t called or anything, either. Hasn’t he been here?”

“There’s a funny story about that. You see…”

~*~

Riley walked down the stairs into the living room, where Grandma Iola, who gave him a hug, met him. “How have you been, dear?”

“I’m fine, Grandma,” he replied. “You can loosen your grip, because I need to breathe…”

“Oh, sorry!” She let go of him. “It’s this new workout plan that your mother signed me up for. I guess I don’t know my own strength anymore!” She laughed.

He chuckled. “Heh, yeah.”

“You sure you’re fine?” Riley nodded. “Okay, because you’re the talk of the family this year.”

“That’s what Jenifer said.”

_“Well, look at who decided to grace us with his presence!”_ He turned around and saw Sheila walking toward him. “Glad to see that you could tear yourself away from your boyfriend to spend time with your family.”

“Now, Sheila, behave yourself,” Iola spoke. “When you’re in our house, you’ll respect everyone in it.”

“What about Riley? He doesn’t have enough decency to come down to see his family until, what, 10:00 in the morning? He’s too busy with his boyfriend. We can see where his priorities lie.”

“Hey!” Matt piped up from across the room. He approached Sheila. “Grandma said to respect everyone in this house. If you’re going to be like this, then you can just leave.”

“Matt, it’s fine,” Riley said. “Sheila doesn’t need to know what’s going on.”

“I think it’s obvious what’s going on. Riley’s choosing sex over his family. It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

“It’s nothing like that,” Matt interjected, “and, if you were smart, you’d shut your mouth.”

“Fine. I know the truth, and that’s all that matters,” Sheila said. “Excuse me. There’s some stuffing in the kitchen with my name on it.” She walked off toward the other room.

Matt looked at Riley. “Why did you let her walk all over you like that?”

“I don’t want to start anything. Her tiny mind couldn’t handle it.”

“But, you know that she was wrong. You didn’t tell her about Chase’s amnesia or what was going on. If you had, maybe she wouldn’t have been such a bitch.” Grandma Iola gasped. “Sorry, Grandma.”

“No. I’m just shocked that you only called her a bitch.”

Riley gasped. “Grandma!”

“I may be old, but I still call them like I see them!”

“That’s why I love you,” Riley said, smiling.

_“Come on, everyone! The family Monopoly tournament is starting!”_ Constance exclaimed from the dining room.

~*~

“… And, that’s why he probably won’t talk to me ever again.”

“That’s terrible! You didn’t remember him _at all_?” He shook his head. “The poor dear! He’s probably devastated!”

“That’s why I really need to find him, and quickly. Do you think he’s at his apartment?”

“I don’t see the harm in trying.”

“Great! Let’s go!”

~*~

“I’m gonna win this year,” Iola said.

“Just don’t use your same strategy of only owning Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues,” Matt commented.

“What’s wrong with those two?”

“Nobody ever lands on them, and they’ve got the lowest rent on the board,” Riley spoke. “If anything, you want either the Oranges or the Reds. That Free Parking corner is a gold mine!”

“Really? You don’t want to own the spaces right by Go?”

“No, Grandma. Statistically speaking, those properties are landed on the least.”

“Then, I won’t go for them.”

“Let’s go before all of the good pieces are taken,” Matt said.

~*~

Moana pulled up to Riley’s apartment building and parked in a space right by the main entrance door. “I’ll wait here. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Moana,” Chase said, unbuckling his seat belt. He opened the door and walked up to the building, inputting Riley’s secret code to get in. He took the elevator up to Riley’s floor, got out of it, and ran to his door. He put the key into the lock and opened the door, walking into a completely dark apartment. “Riley?” He turned the lights on and ran into the kitchen. “Riley!” He ran into the bathroom, and then ran upstairs to his bedroom. “Where are you?” He ran back downstairs, turned the lights back off, and exited the apartment, locking the door behind him. He ran out to Moana’s car and got in, buckling his seat belt.

“Well?”

“He wasn’t in there.”

“Where do you think he could be?”

“I don’t know. With Riley, he could be anywhere.”

“What about his family? Did you try there?”

“They’re a good couple of hours away. He wouldn’t go there, unless –“

“Unless something really tragic happened, and he needed an escape from everything?”

“What would cause him to – Oh, right.”

“Do you know how to get there?”

“Of course.”

“Then, show me the way. Let’s go!” She backed the car out of the space, and peeled out of the parking area.

~*~

Chase looked over at the speedometer, and then back out the window at the passing scenery. “Can’t you drive any faster?”

“Well, I could, but I’d rather not have a traffic ticket to kick off my Thanksgiving, Chase.”

He sighed, and then turned toward her. “I’m sorry. I’m just worried that I ruined things between me and Riley.”

“Why would you have ruined things? You had a brain injury. Riley seems like the intelligent type. Surely, he understood what happened.”

“I don’t know. I didn’t remember him _at all_. I still can’t wrap my head around it.”

“Why don’t you give him a call and let him know that you’re on your way? That’ll be a good way to know if I should just turn around, or if we should keep going.”

“There’s our Rest Area,” Chase said. “That’s where we first… Never mind.”

“In a Rest Area?” He nodded. “What happened to your Wine Dine and 69 package at the hotel?”

“I decided that our first time should be special.”

“So, you picked a Rest Area?”

“Riley picked it. Guess he’s got an adventurous side that I didn’t know about.”

“I would have picked the hotel, myself,” Moana commented, “but you kids today aren’t like we were, back in the day.”

“Listen to you… ‘You kids today,’ as if we’re completely different from how you used to behave.”

“I don’t recall ever having sex at a Rest Area. Maybe in the kitchen at a restaurant, but never at a Rest Area. A girl’s got to have standards, you know!”

“Okay, that’s more than I needed to know. So… I was calling Riley, wasn’t I?” He scrolled through his contact list and tapped Riley’s name, initiating a call. The phone rang and rang, with no response. Chase looked at it. “He didn’t answer.” He shoved the phone into the compartment on the door. “_He didn’t answer!_”

“Relax, Chase. Maybe he’s just busy?”

“Maybe he’s ignoring me. We should just turn around and go back home.”

“Oh, no, we’re not. The Chase Randall that I know wouldn’t give up that easily.”

“But…”

“But, nothing. I didn’t scare Deirdre off and drive halfway to the other side of the state just to have you give up and go back. That’s not the Chase that I watched grow up, and you know that’s not the Chase that you’ve been for as long as I’ve known you.”

“You know… I hate it when you’re right.” He smirked. “You really think he still loves me?”

She smiled back. “There’s only one way to find out.”

~*~

Outside, it started to thunderstorm. Inside, another storm was brewing, and it was happening in the low-rent district.

“Eight… Nine… Ten. Baltic Avenue. Again.”

“Four hundred and fifty bucks, Riley! Pay up!” He handed Grandma Iola $450. “Pleasure doing business with you!”

“’Nobody ever lands on those,’ eh, Ry?” Matt asked, joking around. “You’ve hit them twice now.”

“This goes against every sense of logic that I know,” Riley commented.

“I think you’re trying to lose on purpose,” Sheila spoke. “You’ve probably got your little boy toy waiting for you outside.”

“Sheila!” Constance shouted. “That’s enough!”

“We all know it’s true,” she replied, sipping on her soda. “Just admit it, and we can move on.”

Just then, Riley heard a knock at the door. “I’ll get it. Excuse me.” He got up and walked toward the front door.

“I’ll bet it’s your boy toy, Chase…”

“Sheila…” Matt growled.

~*~

The knocking kept going. “Hold on, I’m coming!” It didn’t stop. “What do you want?” He opened the door, and his jaw dropped.

“Riley…” A soaking-wet Chase stood there, breathing heavily.

“Chase! I…” Chase grabbing his face and pulling him in for a deep, passionate kiss stopped him. Riley moaned a little, eventually settling in for the ride. After a minute, Chase broke the kiss, and he backed up. Breathless, Riley struggled to regain his composure. “Wow…”

Chase smiled. “Daddy’s home.”

Riley smiled from ear to ear. “Now, I have something to be thankful for.”

“You mean, besides living, being with your family and friends, and just life in general?”

“Well, there’s _that_, but having you back has made me the happiest I’ve been in days!” He paused. “Oh! There’s someone that I want you to meet.”

_“Wait for me!”_ Riley looked behind Chase and saw Moana running up to the porch. “Is there enough food for us to join you?”

“We haven’t started eating yet, Moana, but, yes, there’s enough. Mom always cooks enough to feed a small country. C’mon and join us!” He led Chase and Moana into the kitchen. “Everyone, meet my boyfriend, Chase, and Moana, who’s basically his mother. Chase, Moana, this is my family. You know my mom, Constance… Grandma Iola… of course, Matt… And, this is my _lovely_ cousin, Sheila.”

“It’s nice to see you all again,” Chase said.

“I knew that your boy toy was waiting outside,” Sheila spoke, standing up. “You were throwing this Monopoly tournament on purpose, Riley. We all knew it.”

“You’ve got it all wrong,” Riley replied. “Chase has…”

“I’ve got this,” Chase interrupted, moving Riley behind him. He approached Sheila. “Hey, Sheila?”

“What?”

“You look thirsty.”

“I do?”

“How about a little punch?”

“Oh, you think you’re _so_ tough, trying to hit a girl. I knew that you looked like a woman-beater. Go ahead, Chase, I dare you. I _dare_ you! Do it! Hit me! Do it!” While she kept talking, Chase wound up and punched her, square in the face. “Oh, my God!” She fell back into an adjacent chair. Everyone gasped.

Grandma Iola stood up and walked over to him. “Chase…”

“Yeah?” He asked, catching his breath and shaking out his hand.

“That was the best punch I’ve seen since I saw Hard Knuckle Smith knock out Phil Schumer in the Great Boxing Match of 1955!”

“You’re not mad that I knocked her out?”

“Goodness, no! She’s a bitch. None of us like her.”

“Really?” Chase looked around and saw the entire family shaking their heads and muttering bad things about her. “But, why invite her if you all hate her?”

“Legally, we have to,” Constance spoke up. “See, Sheila is my ex-husband’s sister’s daughter. It was in the prenuptial agreement that she has to attend every family function at the farm. When we got divorced and he moved away, that little clause remained intact, and she’s never let us forget it.”

“I see,” he replied. He turned to Riley and whispered, _“Your family is weird.”_

_“I know,”_ he whispered back, _“but that’s why you love us.”_ He gave Chase a quick peck on the cheek.

“So, how about that dinner?” Moana asked.

“Oh, heavens!” Constance exclaimed. “My turkey’s probably burning!” She ran into the kitchen and opened the oven. _“It’s fine! Don’t worry!”_ She took the turkey out of the oven. _“Who wants to carve it?”_

“Chase, would you like the honors?” Riley asked.

“I’d love to.” He walked into the kitchen.

~*~

A short while later, Chase emerged, holding the platter of sliced turkey. Constance walked behind him, holding a bowl of crescent rolls. The two set their food on the table. Constance put her arm around Chase. “Everyone, I think that we can all be thankful that Chase is in our lives. I know that Riley is madly in love with you, and that he is on Cloud Nine now that you’re back with us. I, for one, am thankful that you finally put Sheila in her place. We’re glad to have you as a part of the family.”

“Thank you, Constance,” Chase replied.

“Call me ‘Mom’… Son.” Riley and Chase both smiled.

“Happy Thanksgiving… Mom.” Chase gave Constance a hug. “Now, let’s eat!”


End file.
